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Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)/biography
}} |birth_place = Staunton, Virginia, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. |restingplace = Washington National Cathedral Washington, D.C. |party = Democratic |spouse = | }} |children = Margaret, Jessie, and Eleanor |alma_mater = Davidson College Princeton University (BA) University of Virginia Johns Hopkins University (PhD) |profession = Academic historian Political scientist |religion = Presbyterianism |blank1 = Awards |data1 = Nobel Peace Prize |signature = Woodrow Wilson Signature 2.svg }} Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. Born in Staunton, Virginia, he spent his early years in Augusta, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina. Wilson earned a PhD in political science, working as a professor and scholar at various institutions before being chosen as President of Princeton University, a position he held from 1902 to 1910. In the election of 1910, he was the gubernatorial candidate of New Jersey's Democratic Party, and was elected the 34th Governor of New Jersey, serving from 1911 to 1913. Running for president in 1912, a split in the Republican Party allowed his plurality, just over forty percent, to win him a large electoral college margin. As President, Wilson was a leading force in the Progressive Movement, bolstered by his Democratic Party's winning control of both the White House and Congress in 1912. In office, Wilson reintroduced the spoken State of the Union, which had been out of use since 1801. Leading the Congress, now in Democratic hands, he oversaw the passage of progressive legislative policies unparalleled until the New Deal in 1933.John Milton Cooper, Woodrow Wilson: A Biography p. 201 Included among these were the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Federal Farm Loan Act. Having taken office one month after ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment, Wilson called a special session of Congress, whose work culminated in the Revenue Act of 1913, reintroducing an income tax and lowering tariffs. Through passage of the Adamson Act, imposing an 8-hour workday for railroads, he averted a railroad strike and an ensuing economic crisis. Upon the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Wilson maintained a policy of neutrality, while pursuing a more aggressive policy in dealing with Mexico's civil war. Wilson faced former Governor Charles Evans Hughes of New York in the presidential elections of 1916. He became the first Democrat since Andrew Jackson elected to consecutive terms with a narrow majority. Wilson's second term was dominated by American entry into World War I. In April 1917, when Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, Wilson asked Congress to declare war in order to make "the world safe for democracy." The United States conducted military operations alongside the Allies, although without a formal alliance. During the war, Wilson focused on diplomacy and financial considerations, leaving military strategy to the generals, especially General John J. Pershing. Loaning billions of dollars to Britain, France, and other Allies, the United States aided their finance of the war effort. Through the Selective Service Act, conscription sent 10,000 freshly trained soldiers to France, per day, by summer of 1918. On the home front, he raised income taxes, borrowing billions of dollars through the public's purchase of Liberty Bonds. He set up the War Industries Board, promoted labor union cooperation, regulating agriculture and food production through the Lever Act, and granting to the Secretary of the Treasury, William McAdoo, direct control of the nation's railroad system. In his 1915 State of the Union, Wilson asked Congress for what became the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918, suppressing anti-draft activists. The crackdown was intensified by his Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer to include expulsion of non-citizen radicals during the First Red Scare of 1919–1920. Following years of advocacy for suffrage on the state level, in 1918 he endorsed the Nineteenth Amendment whose ratification provided all women the right to vote by its ratification in 1920, over Southern opposition. Wilson staffed his government with Southern Democrats who believed in segregation. He gave department heads greater autonomy in their management. Early in 1918, he issued his principles for peace, the Fourteen Points, and in 1919, following armistice, he traveled to Paris, promoting the formation of a League of Nations, concluding the Treaty of Versailles. Following his return from Europe, Wilson embarked on a nationwide tour in 1919 to campaign for the treaty, suffering a severe stroke. The treaty was met with serious concern by Senate Republicans, and Wilson rejected a compromise effort led by Henry Cabot Lodge, leading to the Senate's rejection of the treaty. Due to his stroke, Wilson secluded himself in the White House, disability having diminished his power and influence. Forming a strategy for reelection, Wilson deadlocked the 1920 Democratic National Convention, but his bid for a third term nomination was overlooked. A devoted Presbyterian, Wilson infused morality into his internationalism, an ideology now referred to as "Wilsonian"—an activist foreign policy calling on the nation to promote global democracy. Cooper, Woodrow Wilson (2009) p. 560. For his sponsorship of the League of Nations, Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize, the second of three sitting presidents so honored. The other presidents are Theodore Roosevelt and Barack Obama. Early life Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia, on December 28, 1856, at 18–24 North Coalter Street (now the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library), of Scots-Irish descent.Heckscher (1991), p. 4. He was the third of four children of Joseph Ruggles Wilson (1822–1903) and Jessie Janet Woodrow (1826–1888).John Milton Cooper, Woodrow Wilson: A Biography (2009) pp. 13–19 Wilson's paternal grandparents immigrated to the United States from Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland), in 1807. His mother was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England, the daughter of Rev. Dr. Thomas Woodrow from Paisley, Scotland, and Marion Williamson from Glasgow. This was one of the Border Counties, which supplied many immigrants to the North American colonies in the late 18th century. Joseph originally lived in Steubenville, Ohio, where his family had settled. Wilson's grandfather had published a pro-tariff and anti-slavery newspaper, The Western Herald and Gazette. p. 4 Wilson's parents moved south in 1851 and came to fully identify with it. His father defended slavery, owned slaves and set up a Sunday school for them. Both parents identified with the Confederacy; they cared for wounded soldiers at their church, and Wilson's father briefly served as a chaplain to the Confederate Army. Woodrow Wilson's earliest memory, from the age of three, was of hearing that Abraham Lincoln had been elected and that a war was coming. Wilson would forever recall standing for a moment at General Robert E. Lee's side and looking up into his face. Wilson's father was one of the founders of the Southern Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) in 1861 after it split from the northern Presbyterians. He served as the first permanent clerk of the southern church's General Assembly, was Stated Clerk from 1865 to 1898, and was Moderator of the PCUS General Assembly in 1879. He became minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia, and the family lived there until young Wilson was 14. Wilson in 1873 formally became a member of the Columbia First Presbyterian Church and remained a member throughout his life.Heckscher (1991), p. 23. Education Wilson's reading began at age ten, possibly delayed by dyslexia; he later blamed the lack of schools in the postbellum South. As a teen, he taught himself the Graham shorthand system to compensate, and achieved academically with self-discipline, studying at home with his father, then in classes at a small Augusta school.Heckscher (1991), p. 22 During Reconstruction, Wilson lived in Columbia, South Carolina, from 1870 to 1874, while his father was professor at the Columbia Theological Seminary.Walworth ch 1 His father moved the family to Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1874 where he was the minister at First Presbyterian Church until 1882. Wilson attended Davidson College in North Carolina for the 1873–74 school year, cut short by illness, then transferred to Princeton as a freshman. He graduated in 1879, a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. In his second year, he studied political philosophy and history, was active in the Whig literary and debating society, and wrote for the Nassau Literary Review. He organized the Liberal Debating SocietyLink, Wilson I:5–6; Wilson Papers I: 130, 245, 314 and later coached the Whig–Clio Debate Panel. In the hotly contested election of 1876, Wilson declared his support for the Democratic Party and its nominee, Samuel J. Tilden.Heckscher (1991), p. 35. In 1879, Wilson attended law school at the University of Virginia for one year; he was involved in the Virginia Glee Club and was president of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society. While there, he enjoyed frequent trips to his birthplace of Staunton. He visited with cousins, and fell in love with one, Hattie Woodrow, though his affections were unrequited.Heckscher (1991), p. 53. His health became frail and dictated withdrawal, so he went home to his parents, then living in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he continued his law studies. Wilson was admitted to the Georgia bar and made a brief attempt at law practice in January 1882; he found legal history and substantive jurisprudence interesting, but abhorred the day-to-day procedural aspects. After less than a year, he abandoned the practice to pursue his study of political science and history. Both parents expressed concern over a potentially premature decision.Heckscher (1991), pp. 58– 59. In the fall of April 1883, Wilson entered Johns Hopkins University to study history, political science and the German language. Three years later, he completed his doctoral dissertation, Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics,Internet Archive: [https://archive.org/details/congressionalgov00wilsa Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics (1885)], accessed January 6, 2011 and received a PhD Marriage and family In late spring of 1883, Wilson was summoned to Rome, Georgia, to assist in the settlement of his maternal uncle William's estate, which was being mishandled by a brother-in-law. While there he met and fell in love with Ellen Louise Axson, the daughter of a minister from Savannah, Georgia; he proposed to her and they became engaged in Asheville.Heckscher (1991), pp. 62–65. Wilson's marriage to Ellen was delayed by traumatic developments in her family; in late 1883, Ellen's father Edward, suffering from depression, was admitted to the Georgia State Mental Hospital, where in 1884 he committed suicide. After closing the family home in Rome, Georgia, and recovering from the initial shock, Ellen gained admission to the Art Students League of New York. After graduation, she pursued portrait art and received a medal for one of her works from the Paris International Exposition. She happily agreed to sacrifice further independent artistic pursuits in order to keep her marriage commitment, and in 1885 she and Wilson married.Heckscher, pp. 71–73. Personal interests Wilson was an automobile enthusiast, and took daily rides while he was President in his favorite car, a 1919 Pierce-Arrow."The Pierce Arrow Limousine", Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library His enjoyment of motoring made him an advocate of funding for public highways.Weingroff, Richard F., "President Woodrow Wilson – Motorist Extraordinaire", Federal Highway Administration Wilson was an avid baseball fan, and in 1915 became the first sitting president to attend, and throw out the first ball at, a World Series game. Wilson had been a center fielder during his Davidson College days and was the Princeton team's assistant manager."By the Numbers" – 1915, CNNSI, October 17, 2002. Retrieved February 27, 2010. He cycled regularly, taking several cycling vacations in the English Lake District.Wilson, Andrew (1996), A President's Love Affair with the Lake District: Woodrow Wilson's 'Second Home, Lakeland Press Agency Wilson later took up golf.Van Natta, Don Jr. (2003), First Off the Tee: Presidential Hackers, Duffers, and Cheaters from Taft to Bush PublicAffairs Academic career Wilson worked as a lecturer at Cornell University in 1886–87, where he joined the Irving Literary Society. He next taught at Bryn Mawr College from 1885 until 1888, teaching ancient Greek and Roman history; while there, he refused offers from the universities of Michigan and Indiana.Heckscher, pp. 77–82. When Ellen was pregnant with their first child in 1886, the couple decided that Ellen should go to her Aunt Louisa Brown's residence in Gainesville, Georgia, to have their first child; she arrived just one day before the baby, Margaret, was born in April 1886. Their second child, Jessie, was born in August 1887.Heckscher, p. 85. In 1888, Wilson left Bryn Mawr for Wesleyan University; it was a controversial move, as he had signed a three-year contract with Bryn Mawr in 1887. Both parties claimed contract violations and the matter subsided.Heckscher, pp. 93–94. At Wesleyan, he coached the football team and founded the debate team, which bears his name.Heckscher, p. 96. In February 1890, with the help of friends, Wilson was elected by the Princeton University board to the Chair of Jurisprudence and Political Economy, at an annual salary of $3000.Heckscher, p. 104. He continued a previous practice of reserving time for a six-week course in administration at Johns Hopkins.Heckscher, p. 106. He was also a faculty member of the short-lived coordinate college, Evelyn College for Women. Additionally, Wilson became the first lecturer of Constitutional Law at New York Law School, where he taught with Charles Evans Hughes.Walworth, v. 1; Link (1947) Representing the American Whig Society, Wilson delivered an oration at Princeton's sesquicentennial celebration (1896) entitled "Princeton in the Nation's Service," which was the origin for the school's motto."Beyond FitzRandolph Gates", Princeton Weekly Bulletin June 22, 1998. Wilson became annoyed that Princeton was not living up to its potential, complaining, "There's a little college down in Kentucky which in 60 years has graduated more men who have acquired prominence and fame than has Princeton in her 150 years."The college he was referring to was Centre College. Link (1947) Political science author U.S. democratic republic and British parliament contrast Wilson, a disciple of Walter Bagehot, considered the United States Constitution to be cumbersome and open to corruption. Wilson favored a parliamentary system for the United States and in the early 1880s wrote, "I ask you to put this question to yourselves, should we not draw the Executive and Legislature closer together? Should we not, on the one hand, give the individual leaders of opinion in Congress a better chance to have an intimate party in determining who should be president, and the president, on the other hand, a better chance to approve himself a statesman, and his advisers capable men of affairs, in the guidance of Congress."The Politics of Woodrow Wilson, 41–48 Wilson's first political work, Congressional Government (1885), advocated a parliamentary system. He critically described the United States government, with frequent negative comparisons to Westminster. Critics contended the book was written without the benefit of the author observing any operational aspect of the U.S. Congress, and supporters asserted the work was the product of the imagination of a future statesman. The book reflected the greater power of the legislature, relative to the executive, during the post-bellum period.Heckscher, pp. 75–76, 83 Wilson later became a regular contributor to Political Science Quarterly, an academic journal.Heckscher, p. 83. Wilson's second publication in 1890 was a textbook, entitled The State, used widely in college courses throughout the country until the 1920s. He argued that government should not be deemed evil and advocated the use of government to allay social ills and advance society's welfare.Heckscher, p. 101. in 1889 Wilson contributed to a U.S. historical series, covering the period from Pres. Jackson through Reconstruction. His third book, entitled Division and Reunion, was published in 1893 and considered an outstanding contribution to American historical writing.Heckscher, p. 103. Wilson's fourth publication, a five-volume work entitled History of the American People, was the culmination of a series of articles written for Harper's, and was published in 1902.Heckscher, p. 142. In 1899, Wilson wrote in "The State" that governments could legitimately promote the general welfare "by forbidding child labor, by supervising the sanitary conditions of factories, by limiting the employment of women in occupations hurtful to their health, by instituting official tests of the purity or the quality of goods sold, by limiting the hours of labor in certain trades, and by a hundred and one limitations of the power of unscrupulous or heartless men to out-do the scrupulous and merciful in trade or industry."The Presidency of Woodrow Wilson by Kendrick. A. Clements Wilson believed that America's system of checks and balances complicated American governance. If government behaved badly, Wilson queried, "How is the schoolmaster, the nation, to know which boy needs the whipping?"Wilson, Congressional Government (1885), pp. 186–187. Wilson singled out the United States House of Representatives for particular criticism, saying, "... divided up, as it were, into forty-seven seignories, in each of which a Standing Committee is the court-baron and its chairman lord-proprietor. These petty barons, some of them not a little powerful, but none of them within reach of the full powers of rule, may at will exercise an almost despotic sway within their own shires, and may sometimes threaten to convulse even the realm itself."Wilson Congressional Government 1885, p. 76. In his last scholarly work, Constitutional Government of the United States (1908), Wilson said that the presidency "will be as big as and as influential as the man who occupies it." By the time of his presidency, Wilson hoped that presidents could be party leaders in the same way British prime ministers were. Wilson also hoped that the parties could be reorganized along ideological, not geographic, lines. He wrote, "Eight words contain the sum of the present degradation of our political parties: No leaders, no principles; no principles, no parties."Frozen Republic, 145 Wilson also wrote that charity efforts should be removed from the private domain and "made the imperative legal duty of the whole," a position which, according to Robert M. Saunders, seemed to indicate that Wilson "was laying the groundwork for the modern welfare state." Public administration Wilson also studied public administration, which he called "...government in action; it is the executive, the operative, the most visible side of government, and is of course as old as government itself".Wilson 3 He believed that the study of public administration could enable officials to increase governmental efficiency."The Study of Administration" in Political Science Quarterly, June 1887 He faulted political leaders who focused on philosophical issues and the nature of government and dismissed the critical issues of government administration as mere "practical detail". He thought such attitudes represented the requirements of smaller countries and populations. By his day, he thought, "...it is getting to be harder to run a constitution than to frame one."Wilson, 4 He thought it time "...to straighten the paths of government, to make its business less unbusinesslike, to strengthen and purify its organization, and it to crown its dutifulness".Wilson 5 He summarized the growth of such foreign states as Prussia, France, and England, highlighting the events that led to advances in administration. By contrast, he thought the United States required greater compromise because of the diversity of public opinion and the difficulty of forming a majority opinion; thus practical reform to the government was necessarily slow. Yet Wilson insisted that "...administration lies outside the proper sphere of politics"Wilson, 10 and that "...general laws which direct these things to be done are as obviously outside of and above administration."Wilson, 11 He likened administration to a machine that functions independent of the changing mood of its leaders. Such a line of demarcation is intended to focus responsibility for actions taken on the people or persons in charge. As Wilson put it, "...public attention must be easily directed, in each case of good or bad administration, to just the man deserving of praise or blame. There is no danger in power, if only it be not irresponsible. If it be divided, dealt out in share to many, it is obscured..."Wilson, 12 Essentially, the items under the discretion of administration must be limited in scope, as to not block, nullify, obfuscate, or modify the implementation of governmental decree made by the executive branch. President of Princeton University 's president (1902)]] Wilson had in the past been offered the presidency at the University of Illinois in 1892, and at the University of Virginia in 1901, both of which he declined.Heckscher, p. 110. The Princeton trustees promoted Professor Wilson to president in June 1902, replacing Francis Landey Patton, whom the trustees perceived to be an inefficient administrator. Although the school's endowment was barely $4 million, Wilson sought $2 million for a preceptorial system of teaching, $1 million for a school of science, and nearly $3 million for new buildings and salary increases. As a long-term objective, Wilson sought $3 million for a graduate school and $2.5 million for schools of jurisprudence and electrical engineering, as well as a museum of natural history.Walworth v. 1 He increased the faculty from 112 to 174, most of whom he selected himself on the basis of their records as outstanding teachers. The curriculum guidelines he developed proved important progressive innovations in the field of higher education.Walworth v. 1; Bragdon, Woodrow Wilson: The Academic Years (1967) Wilson also made biblical studies a scholarly pursuit, appointed the first Jew and the first Roman Catholic to the faculty, and helped liberate the board from domination by conservative Presbyterians.Heckscher, p. 155. To emphasize the development of expertise, Wilson instituted academic departments and a system of core requirements. Students were to meet for these in groups of six with preceptors, followed by two years of concentration in a selected major. He tried to raise admission standards and to replace the "gentleman's C" with serious study. Wilson aspired, as he told alumni, "to transform thoughtless boys performing tasks into thinking men".Bragdon, Woodrow Wilson: The Academic Years; Walworth v. 1; Link (1947) In 1906 Wilson awoke to find himself blind in the left eye, the result of a blood clot and hypertension. Modern medical opinion surmises Wilson had suffered a stroke—he later was diagnosed, as his father had been, with hardening of the arteries; he took a Bermuda vacation. He began to exhibit his father's traits of impatience and intolerance, which would on occasion lead to errors of judgment.Heckscher, p. 156. In 1896 Wilson had, somewhat prophetically, described his problem, in the sesquicentennial speech at Princeton: "...your thorough Presbyterian is not subject to the ordinary laws of life, is of too stubborn a fiber, too unrelaxing a purpose, to suffer mere inconvenience to bring defeat". campus]] When Wilson began vacationing in Bermuda in 1906, he met a socialite, Mary Hulbert Peck. Their visits together became a regular occurrence on his return. Wilson in his letters home to Ellen openly related these gatherings as well his other social events. According to biographer August Heckscher, Ellen could sense a problem, and it became the topic of frank discussion between them. Wilson historians have not conclusively established there was an affair; but Wilson did on one occasion write a musing in shorthand—on the reverse side of a draft for an editorial: "my precious one, my beloved Mary".;Heckscher, p. 174. Wilson also sent very personal letters which would be used against him by his adversaries later.Cooper (2009) pp. 99–101. On another occasion while Wilson was vacationing solo in the British Isles, Ellen journeyed to Connecticut. She joined the household of respected artist Florence Griswold to further pursue her own interests.Heckscher, p. 173. During his time at Princeton, he attempted to curtail the influence of social elites by abolishing the upper-class eating clubs. He proposed moving the students into colleges, also known as quadrangles. Wilson's Quad Plan was met with fierce opposition from Princeton's alumni. Wilson persisted, saying that giving in "would be to temporize with evil".Walworth 1:109 In October 1907, due to the intensity of alumni opposition, the Board of Trustees withdrew its support for the Quad Plan and instructed Wilson to withdraw it.Bragdon, Woodrow Wilson: The Academic Years, 326–327. Not long afterward, Wilson suffered a recurrence of his 1906 ailment; as before, a vacation was prescribed and proved beneficial. Late in his tenure, Wilson had a confrontation with Andrew Fleming West, dean of the graduate school, and also West's ally ex-President Grover Cleveland, who was a trustee. Wilson wanted to integrate a proposed graduate school building into the campus core, while West preferred a more distant campus site. In 1909 Wilson's final year at Princeton began with a gift made to the graduate school campaign subject to the graduate school being located off campus; the acceptance of this condition by the board was a pivotal defeat for Wilson.Heckscher, p. 183. The national press covered the confrontation as a battle between the elites, represented by West, versus the populists, represented by Wilson. From its outset, Wilson became disenchanted with resistance to his recommendations at Princeton; he ruminated on future political leadership. Prior to the Democratic presidential nominating convention in 1908, Wilson had dropped hints to some influential players in the Democratic Party of his interest in the Democratic ticket. While he had no real expectations of being placed on the ticket, he did leave instructions that he should not be offered the vice presidential nomination. And then he was off for a vacation in Scotland. Party regulars considered his ideas politically as well as geographically detached and fanciful. But, the seeds had been sown.Heckscher, p. 176. Wilson later commented that politics was less brusque than university administration.Cooper, John Milton. Woodrow Wilson: A Biography. p. 107 Wilson was elected president of the American Political Science Association in 1910, but soon decided to leave his Princeton post and enter New Jersey state politics.Walworth, v 1 ch 6, 7, 8 McGeorge Bundy in 1956 described Wilson's contribution to Princeton: "Wilson was right in his conviction that Princeton must be more than a wonderfully pleasant and decent home for nice young men; it has been more ever since his time".Heckscher, p. 203. Governor of New Jersey In January 1910 Wilson had drawn the attention of New Jersey's U.S. Senator James Smith, Jr. and George Harvey as the potential Democratic standard bearer in the upcoming gubernatorial election. On July 12, 1910 he was introduced to New Jersey's power players at the Lawyers Club in New York, including James Richard Nugent, Robert S. Hudspeth, Millard F. Ross, and Richard V. Lindabury. The bosses had chosen their man, but his nomination was not a given—many, including organized labor, felt Wilson was an inexperienced newcomer.Heckscher, p. 208. Nevertheless, the bosses marshaled their forces at the party convention, and on September 14 Wilson was nominated; this, despite his endorsement of the local option on the liquor issue—in opposition to the political machine. He submitted his letter of resignation to Princeton on October 20.Heckscher, pp. 194, 202–203 Wilson's opponent in the general election was the Republican candidate Vivian M. Lewis, the State Commissioner of Banking and Insurance. Wilson's campaign focused on his promise to be independent of party bosses. Wilson quickly shed his professorial style for more emboldened speechmaking, and presented himself as a full-fledged progressive.Heckscher, p. 214. He soundly defeated Lewis by a margin of more than 650,000 votes, although Republican William Howard Taft had carried New Jersey in the 1908 presidential election by more than 82,000 votes.Heckscher, p. 215.Biography of Woodrow Wilson (PDF), New Jersey State Library. Historian Edmund Morris called Wilson in the Governor's race a "dark horse." He attributed his and others' success against the Taft Republicans in 1910 in part to the emergent national progressive message enunciated by Theodore Roosevelt in his post-presidency.Morris, Edmund, "The Tea Party Last Time, Op-ed, The New York Times, October 31, 2010 (November 1, 2010 p. A33 NY ed.). Retrieved November 1, 2010. In the 1910 election, the Democrats also took control of the General Assembly, though the State Senate remained in Republican hands. Wilson appointed Joseph Patrick Tumulty as his private secretary, a position he held throughout Wilson's political career.Heckscher, p. 220. He began formulating his reformist agenda, intending to ignore the demands of party machinery. After Wilson's election, political boss U.S. Senator Smith asked Wilson to endorse his own reelection bid in the state legislature (this was before popular election of senators); Wilson refused, and endorsed Smith's opponent James E Martine. When Martine won the seat, Wilson had manifestly positioned himself as a new leader in the party in that state.Heckscher, pp. 216–217. Wilson concentrated on four major state reforms—changes in the election laws, a corrupt practices act, Workmen's Compensation, and establishment of a commission to regulate utilities. The Geran bill, drafted by Del. Elmer H Geran, expanded public participation in primaries for all offices including party officials and delegates; it was thus directed at the power of the political bosses. It passed the state assembly, albeit by a narrow margin. The corrupt practices law and Workmen's Compensation statute soon followed.Heckscher, pp. 225–227. Presidential election of 1912 Democratic nomination Wilson's prominence as governor and in the national media induced his presidential campaign in 1912. Wilson committed himself to try for the Democratic nomination in March of the prior year when he spoke at an Atlanta meeting of the Southern Commercial Congress; afterwards he said : "I was given a dinner, breakfast and reception, and on every possible occasion was nominated for the presidency!"Heckscher, p. 230 While Wilson was in Atlanta, his wife Ellen, alert that key Democrat William Jennings Bryan was visiting Princeton, and recalling Wilson's opposition to him in 1896, invited him for dinner upon Wilson's return. Indeed, the establishment of rapport with Bryan, the most recent standard bearer of the party, was a success.Heckscher, p. 231 Wilson began a truly public campaign for the nomination in the south, with a speech to the Pewter Platter Club in Norfolk, Va.. While he was received enthusiastically, the speech, reformist in nature, was considered provocative and radical by the conservative audience, making the visit on the whole less than positive.Heckscher, pp. 231–232 With Wilson the first Southerner to have a serious chance at the White House since 1848 however, Southern Democrats in general strongly supported Wilson's campaign for the nomination in 1912.Arthur S. Link, "Woodrow Wilson: The American as Southerner," Journal of Southern History (1970) 36#1 pp. 3–17 in JSTOR More of Wilson's support came from young progressives in that region, including intellectuals, editors and lawyers. Wilson managed to maneuver through the complexities of local politics. For example, in Tennessee the Democratic Party was divided over prohibition; Wilson was progressive and sober, but not dry, and appealed to both sides. They united behind him to win the presidential election in the state, but divided over state politics and lost the gubernatorial election.Arthur S. Link, "Democratic Politics and the Presidential Campaign of 1912 in Tennessee", East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 1979 51: 114–137 After Norfolk, Wilson then proceeded westward to Kansas, Colorado, California, Oregon and Washington; he favored voting reforms which empowered the populace, such as the initiative, the referendum and the recall (excepting judges).Heckscher, pp. 232–233. In California Wilson was asked about his views on women's suffrage and though he was firmly opposed, he evasively said that it was a matter for the states to decide.Heckscher, p. 234. In July 1911 Wilson brought William Gibbs McAdoo and Edward Mandell House in to manage the campaign.Heckscher, p. 238. The 1912 Democratic convention in Baltimore was one of the most dramatic conventions in American history; only the Republican conventions of 1880 and 1940, and the Democratic convention of 1952 are comparable.Heckscher, p. 245. William F. McCombs who helped Wilson win the governorship served as convention chairman. The Republicans at their convention had set the stage a week earlier, nominating incumbent William Howard Taft, with Theodore Roosevelt stalking out, to launch an independent campaign to split the party vote.Heckscher, p. 247. Wilson was convinced that the Baltimore convention should be allowed to work its will without his interference—so he went golfing and motoring. As for his assistant Tumulty, he "nearly collapsed" under the strainHeckscher, p. 246. The convention deadlocked for over forty ballots—no candidate could reach the two-thirds vote required. The leading contender was House Speaker Champ Clark, a prominent progressive, strongest in the border states. Other less charismatic contenders were Governor Judson Harmon of Ohio, and Representative Oscar Underwood of Alabama. Publisher William Randolph Hearst, a leader of the left wing of the party, supported Clark. William Jennings Bryan, the nominee in 1896, 1900 and 1908, played a critical role in his declared opposition to any candidate supported by "the financiers of Wall Street". Indeed, on the tenth ballot New York's delegation went unanimously to Clark, and the battle lines were clearly drawn between the bosses and the rank and file delegates.Heckscher, p. 249. Bryan then announced on the fourteenth ballot that his vote for Clark would be withheld due to the New York vote. Wilson's tally began to climb steadily, and he initially topped Clark's vote on the thirtieth ballot.Heckscher, p. 250. Bryan announced for Wilson, who ultimately won the nomination on the 46th ballot.Arthur S. Link, "The Baltimore Convention of 1912", American Historical Review 1945 50(4): 691–713 in JSTOR Wilson chose Indiana Governor Thomas R. Marshall as his running mateCooper (2009), 163–68 General election Wilson directed Chairman of Finance, Henry Morgenthau not to accept contributions from corporations and to prioritize smaller donations from the widest possible quarters of the public, and Morgenthau succeeded admirably. In order to further embolden Democrats, especially in New Jersey and New York, Wilson set out to ensure the defeat of local candidates supported by machines, who were running for re-election—James Smith Jr. (U.S. Senate in New Jersey) and John Dix (Governor of New York). He succeeded in both of these efforts and thereby weakened arguments that party control resided with political bosses.Heckscher, pp. 254–255. Speeches in Buffalo and New York City exemplified the pattern of Wilson's speechmaking. His oratory style was, "right out of my mind as it is working at the time". He maintained towards his primary opponent Roosevelt a tone of humorous detachment, describing the Bull Moose party as "the irregular Republicans, the variegated Republicans". Wilson shunned the stump speech campaign routine, and initially was reticent to conduct an extensive campaign tour, but this changed after Roosevelt went on the offensive.Heckscher, pp. 258–259. A notably progressive speech in Minneapolis included the following: "that property as compared with humanity, as compared with the vital red blood in the American people, must take second place, not first place".Heckscher, p. 260. Wilson frequently sought out Louis D. Brandeis for advice on economic policy—that corporate trusts be regulated by the government. His campaign then increased its focus upon the elimination of monopoly in all forms. Wilson also concluded that major reforms in banking and a lower tariff were needed to eliminate the spheres of entrenched interests which distorted the functioning of the free-market.Heckscher, pp. 256–257. In Indianapolis he said that for the next president "there will be no greater burden in our generation than to organize the forces of liberty… And to make conquest of a new freedom for America". This serendipitous comment spawned the title of Wilson's policy of "New Freedom", emphasizing the lower tariffs and limited federal government–albeit with increased anti-trust law enforcement and creation of a new banking regulator, the Federal Reserve System.Heckscher, p. 261. When Roosevelt was wounded by an assassin, Wilson restricted his events to those already scheduled and limited his criticism to the regular Republicans. It was evident by this time that the Wilson movement would not be checked.Heckscher, p. 262. The GOP split between Taft and Roosevelt enlarged Wilson's success in the electoral college. Wilson appealed to African Americans and promised to work for them, gaining some support among them in the North at the expense of the Republicans. Wilson took 41.8% of the popular vote and won 435 electoral votes from 40 states.Lewis L. Gould, Four Hats in the Ring: The 1912 Election and the Birth of Modern American Politics (2008), p. ?? It is not clear if Roosevelt extracted more support from fellow Republican Taft, or fellow progressive Wilson.Cooper, John Milton. "Woodrow Wilson: A Biography". p. 187 Presidency (1913–1921) First term (1913–17) After a vacation in Bermuda Wilson was energized and more aggressive, even combative. He noted the presidency was an office "in which a man must put on his war paint". In Chicago, he addressed the Commercial Club, including some of the most powerful industrial and financial leaders of the Midwest; he unapologetically emphasized his progressivism and called his audience to account for their malpractices in business affairs.Heckscher, p. 265-67. In his inaugural address Wilson reiterated his agenda for lower tariffs and banking reform, as well as aggressive trust and labor legislation. The Wilsons decided against an inaugural ball and instead gathered with family and friends at the White House.Heckscher, p. 274. Wilson's demand for private reflection was evident when he immediately announced that office seekers were not permitted to visit the White House. His decision-making style was to use solitude in conjunction with prevailing opinions in making decisions.Heckscher, p. 276. Wilson's personal staff reflected his preferences; Tumulty's position provided a political buffer and intermediary with the press, and his irrepressible Irish sentiment offset the president's often dour Scotch disposition.Heckscher, p. 277. Another close member of his personal staff was his physician, Navy medical officer Cary T. Grayson, who familiarized himself with the president's medical history and confirmed the circulatory problem and hardening of the arteries.Heckscher, pp. 278–280. Wilson pioneered twice-weekly press conferences in the White House. Though they were modestly effective, the president prohibited his being quoted and was particularly indeterminate in his statements.Heckscher, pp. 283–284. The first such press conference was on March 15, 1913, when reporters were allowed to ask him questions. In 1913, he also became the first president to deliver the State of the Union address in person since 1801 when Thomas Jefferson discontinued this practice. Wilson, the only Democrat besides Grover Cleveland to be elected president since 1856, recognized his Party's need for high-level federal patronage.Arthur S. Link, "Woodrow Wilson: The American as Southerner", Journal of Southern History, Vol. 36, No. 1 (1970), pp. 3–17 in JSTOR Wilson was also the first Southerner elected to the White House since 1869 and worked closely with Southern Democrats. In Wilson's first month in office Postmaster General Albert S. Burleson and Treasury Secretary William G. McAdoo permitted lower-level officials to racially segregate employees in those departments. Segregation in the federal government, which had begun earlier, now accelerated in accord with predominant public opinion. Heckscher argues that Wilson had indeed promised to deal generously with racial injustices, but did not deliver on these assurances.Heckscher, pp. 291–292. In an early and instructive foreign policy matter, Wilson responded to an angry protest by the Japanese when the state of California proposed legislation which excluded the Japanese from land ownership in the state. Wilson was reticent to assert federal supremacy over the state's legislation. There was talk of war and some argument within the cabinet for a show of naval force, which Wilson firmly rebuffed; after diplomatic exchanges the scare subsided. Japan wanted a treaty (beyond the Root–Takahira Agreement then in place) but none was negotiated; Japanese anger and humiliation remained high for this and other reasons for decades to come.Link (1954) pp. 84–87 In implementing economic policy, Wilson had to transcend the sharply opposing policy views of the Southern and agrarian wing of the Democratic Party led by Bryan, and the pro-business and Northern wing led by urban political bosses—Tammany in New York, Sullivan in Chicago and Smith and Nugent in Newark.Heckscher, p. 304. In his Columbia lectures of 1907 Wilson had said "the whole art of statesmanship is the art of bringing the several parts of government into effective cooperation for the accomplishment of particular common objects". As he took up the first item of his "New Freedom" agenda—lowering the tariffs—he quite adroitly applied this artistry. With large Democratic majorities in Congress and a healthy economy, he promptly seized the opportunity to effectuate his agenda.Link (1972) Wilson also made quick work of realizing his pledges to beef up antitrust regulation and to bring reform to banking and currency matters.Clements, Presidency ch. 3 Tariff legislation To facilitate reduction of the tariffs, Wilson garnered unexpected support from a previous rival Oscar Underwood, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Furnifold M. Simmons, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In May 1913, the Underwood Tariff passed in the House by a vote of 274 to 5; it would take a bit longer passing in the Senate—in September—and was signed by Wilson three weeks later.Dewey W. Grantham, "Southern congressional leaders and the new freedom, 1913-1917." Journal of Southern History 13#4 (1947): 439-459. Its effects were soon overwhelmed by the changes in trade caused by World War I.Arthur S. Link, '"Wilson: The New Freedom'' (1956) pp. 177–98 Wilson mobilized public opinion behind the tariff changes by denouncing corporate lobbyists in an address to Congress, and by staging an elaborate signing ceremony.Vincent W. Howard, "Woodrow Wilson, The Press, and Presidential Leadership: Another Look at the Passage of the Underwood Tariff, 1913," CR: The Centennial Review, (1980)24#2 pp. 167–184 The revenue lost by the lower tariff was replaced by a new federal income tax, authorized by the 16th Amendment. Federal Reserve System Wilson had not waited for completion of the tariff legislation to proceed with his next item of reform—banking—which he initiated in June 1913. After consulting with Brandeis, Wilson declared the banking system must be "public not private, must be vested in the government itself so that the banks must be the instruments, not the masters, of business."Heckscher, pp. 316-17. He tried to find a middle ground between conservative Republicans, led by Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, and the powerful left wing of the Democratic party, led by William Jennings Bryan, who strenuously denounced private banks and Wall Street. The latter group wanted a government-owned central bank that could print paper money as Congress required. The compromise, based on the Aldrich Plan but sponsored by Democratic Congressmen Carter Glass and Robert Owen, allowed the private banks to control the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, but appeased the agrarians by placing controlling interest in the System in a central board appointed by the president with Senate approval. Moreover, Wilson convinced Bryan's supporters that because Federal Reserve notes were obligations of the government, the plan met their demands for an elastic currency. Having 12 regional banks, with designated geographic districts, was meant to weaken the influence of the powerful New York banks, a key demand of Bryan's allies in the South and West, and was a key factor in winning Glass' support.Link (1954) pp. 43–53 The Federal Reserve Act passed in December 1913.Clements, Presidency, pp. 40–44. Wilson named Paul Warburg and other prominent bankers to direct the new system. While power was supposed to be decentralized, the New York branch dominated the Fed as the "first among equals". The new system began operations in 1915 and played a major role in financing the Allied and American war effort.Link, Wilson: The New Freedom (1956) pp. 199–240 The strengthening of the Federal Reserve was later a major accomplishment of the New Deal.Cooper, John Milton. "Woodrow Wilson: A Biography". p. 195 At the end of 1913, summing up the president's efficacy, the Saturday Evening Post magazine stated, "This administration is Woodrow Wilson's and non-other's. He is the top, middle and bottom of it. There is not an atom of divided responsibility… the Democratic Party revolves about him. He is the center of it—the biggest Democrat in the country—the leader and the chief".Heckscher, p. 321. Antitrust and other measures Wilson began pushing for legislation which culminated with the Federal Trade Commission Act signed in September 1914. In doing so, Wilson broke with his predecessors' practice of litigating the antitrust issue in the courts, known as trust-busting; the new Federal Trade Commission provided a new regulatory approach, to encourage competition and reduce perceived unfair trade practices. In addition, he pushed through Congress the Clayton Antitrust Act making certain business practices illegal, such as price discrimination, agreements prohibiting retailers from handling other companies' products, and directorates and agreements to control other companies. The power of this legislation was greater than that of previous anti-trust laws since it dictated accountability of individual corporate officers and clarified guidelines. This law was considered the "Magna Carta" of labor by Samuel Gompers because it ended union liability antitrust laws. In 1916, under threat of a national railroad strike, Wilson approved legislation that increased wages and cut working hours of railroad employees; there was no strike. In the summer of 1914 Wilson gained repeal of toll exemptions at the Panama Canal for American ships; this was received positively by the international community, as a cessation of past discrimination against foreign commerce. The measure was considered unpatriotic by U.S. business interests and opponents such as Tammany Hall.Heckscher, pp. 325–326. With the President reaching out to new constituencies, a series of programs were targeted at farmers. The Smith–Lever Act of 1914 created the modern system of agricultural extension agents sponsored by the state agricultural colleges. The agents taught new techniques to farmers. The 1916 Federal Farm Loan Act provided for issuance of low-cost long-term mortgages to farmers.Clements, Presidency, ch 4. Child labor was curtailed by the Keating–Owen Act of 1916, but the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1918. No major child labor prohibition would take effect until the 1930s.H.D. Hindman Child labor: an American history (2002) Mexican Revolution After learning about the implication that Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson had in the murder of Mexican president Francisco Madero and the coup staged by Victoriano Huerta, president Woodrow Wilson recalled the ambasador and initiated a campaign to drive Huerta out from Mexico. The President supplanted Henry Lane by sending as his personal envoy John Lind, and on 17 July 1913, and dismissed Ambassador Wilson. Wilson withdrew diplomatic recognition from Mexico in an attempt to isolate him globally using a policy called "watchful waiting". This attempt appeared to be succeeding, with Britain and Germany for example, until Wilson removed an embargo on the shipment of arms to Huerta's opposition, the Constitutionalists, led by Venustiano Carranza; this was considered too destabilizing, and strengthened support for the existing government. Wilson defended his action, "we are the friends of constitutional government...because in no other way can our neighbors work out their own development in peace and liberty". Disagreements intensified after a U.S. naval crew was briefly detained at Tampico. Wilson received approval from the Congress to use military force if needed, and later ordered an occupation of Vera Cruz, incorrectly assuming there would be little opposition. In fact, the action resulted in many fatalities – 126 Mexicans and 19 Americans – and Wilson's reputation as a statesman suffered severely for a time both at home and abroad.Heckscher, p. 328. Wilson gladly accepted the offer of the so-called ABC powers—Argentina, Brazil and Chile—to mediate the Mexican dispute. With the negotiations prolonged in Niagara Falls, under mounting pressure Huerta fled to Spain and a month later Carranza victoriously entered Mexico City. Though the administration had achieved the desired result, it was a pyrrhic victory, as Carranza's lieutenant, Pancho Villa, presented a more serious threat in 1916.Heckscher, pp. 329–330. Miners strike, wife's death and remarriage In a 1914 dispute between Colorado miners and their company, a confrontation resulted in the Ludlow Massacre—the deaths of eight strikers, eleven children and two mothers. Part owner John D. Rockefeller, Jr. refused Wilson's offer of mediation, conditioned upon collective bargaining, so Wilson sent in U.S. troops. While Wilson succeeded in bringing order to the situation, and demonstrated support for the labor union, the miners' unconditional surrender to the implacable owners was a defeat for Wilson.Heckscher, p. 330. His wife Ellen's failing health, due to kidney failure, worsened in the spring of 1914; after a fall, she was bedridden, then rallied briefly, but Wilson wrote "my dear one… grows weaker and weaker, with a pathetic patience and sweetness." He was at her bedside to the end, which came August 6, when Wilson despairingly said "Oh my God, what am I to do." Wilson later wrote accurately of his mourning and depression, "Of course you know what has happened to me…God has stricken me almost beyond what I can bear". Six months of depression followed for him, though mourning continued. At the same time that Wilson's private world shattered, World War I broke out in Europe, and this momentously changed his political life.Heckscher, pp. 333–335. In January 1915, Wilson emerged from his depression during a spirited speech in Indianapolis where he said, "the trouble with the Republican Party is that it has not had a new idea for thirty years… the Republican Party is still a covert and a refuge for those who are afraid, for those who want to consult their grandfathers about everything."Heckscher, p. 345. Another sign of Wilson's emotional restoration was the aggressiveness with which he pursued passage of a ship-purchase bill to bulk up the inadequately equipped merchant marine. This lasted until March 1915, when he moderated, drew back from the bill and, without its passage, congratulated the Congress for its work in the session just ended—his initial journey through mourning was evident.Heckscher, p. 347. In February 1915 Wilson had met Edith Bolling Galt, an attractive southern widow and jeweler. After several meetings, he fell in love, and in May, Wilson proposed. He was rebuffed initially but Wilson was undeterred and the courtship continued.Heckscher, pp. 348–350. Edith initially did not pursue the furtherance of their physical interaction with the vigor of Wilson, but she gradually warmed to the relationship and they became secretly engaged in the fall of 1915.Heckscher, pp. 352–353. Many in Wilson's camp had become concerned about the appearance of a premature romance soon after the death of his wife; the engagement was made public in October and they were married on December 18.Heckscher, pp. 350, 356. Events leading to U.S. entry into World War I (1914–16) From 1914 until early 1917, Wilson's primary objective was to keep America out of the war in Europe, and his policy was, "the true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned."Heckscher, p. 339. In a 1914 address to Congress, Wilson argued, "Such divisions amongst us would be fatal to our peace of mind and might seriously stand in the way of the proper performance of our duty as the one great nation at peace, the one people holding itself ready to play a part of impartial mediation and speak the counsels of peace and accommodation, not as a partisan, but as a friend.""Primary Documents: U.S. Declaration of Neutrality, August 19, 1914", accessed January 7, 2002. He made numerous offers to mediate and sent Colonel House on diplomatic missions; the Allies and the Central Powers, however, dismissed these overtures. Wilson even thought it counterproductive to comment on atrocities by either side; this led to assertions of heartlessness on his part.Heckscher, p. 340. Republicans, led by Theodore Roosevelt, criticized Wilson's refusal to build up the U.S. Army in anticipation of war, but Wilson retained the support of the peace element, including women and the religious. When Britain declared a blockade of neutral ships carrying contraband goods to Germany, Wilson mildly protested non-lethal British violations of neutral rights; the British knew that it would not be a casus belli for the United States.Clements, Presidency, ch. 7. In early 1915 Germany declared the waters around Great Britain to be a war zone; Wilson dispatched a note of protest, imposing "strict accountability" on Germany for the safety of neutral ships. The meaning of the policy, dubiously applied to specific incidents, evolved with the policy of neutrality, but ultimately formed the substance of U.S. responses over the next two years.Heckscher, p. 361. The commercial British steamship Falaba was sunk in March 1915 by a German submarine with the loss of 111 lives, including one American in the Thrasher Incident. Wilson chose to avoid risking escalation of the war as a result of the loss of one American. In the spring of 1915 a German bomb struck an American ship, the Cushing and a German submarine torpedoed an American tanker, the Gulflight. Wilson took the view, based on some reasonable evidence, that both incidents were accidental, and that a settlement of claims could be postponed to the end of the war.Heckscher, p. 362. A German submarine torpedoed and sank the British ocean liner [[RMS Lusitania|RMS Lusitania]] in May 1915; over a thousand perished, including many Americans. In a Philadelphia speech that weekend Wilson said, "There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight. There is such a thing as a nation being so right that it does not need to convince others by force that it is right". Many reacted to these remarks with contempt.Heckscher, pp. 363, 365. Wilson sent a subdued note to the Germans protesting its submarine warfare against commerce; the initial reply was evasive and received in the United States with indignation. Secretary of State Bryan, a dedicated pacifist, sensing the country's path to war, resigned, and was replaced by Robert Lansing. The White Star liner the Arabic was then torpedoed, with two American casualties. The U.S. threatened a diplomatic break unless Germany repudiated the action; the German ambassador then conveyed a note, "liners will not be sunk by our submarines". Wilson had not stopped the submarine campaign, but won agreement that unarmed merchant ships would not be sunk without warning; and most importantly he had kept the U.S. out of the war.Heckscher, pp. 366–369.. Meanwhile, Wilson requested and received funds in the final 1916 appropriations bill to provide for 500,000 troops. It also included a five-year Navy plan for major construction of battleships, cruisers, destroyers and submarines—showing Wilson's dedication to a big Navy.Heckscher, p. 378. In March 1916 the Sussex, an unarmed ferry under the French flag, was torpedoed in the English Channel and four Americans were counted among the dead; the Germans had flouted the post-''Lusitania'' exchanges. The president demanded the Germans reject their submarine tactics.Heckscher, pp. 384–385 Wilson drew praise when he succeeded in wringing from Germany a pledge to constrain their U-boat warfare to the rules of cruiser warfare. This was a clear departure from existing practices—a diplomatic concession from which Germany could only more brazenly withdraw, and regrettably did.Heckscher, p. 387. Coincidentally, early 1916 brought two separate Mexican incidents in which thirty-six Americans were killed by the forces of Pancho Villa; Wilson ordered Gen. John Pershing and 4000 troops across the border to reinforce Carranza.Heckscher, p. 388. In early April, though Villa had not been captured, Pershing's forces had broken up and dispersed his bands; yet, the forces continued their pursuit. Carranza then pivoted against the Americans and accused them of a punitive invasion; a confrontation in Parral resulted in two dead Americans and two wounded, plus hundreds of Mexican casualties. Pershing, recommending the railroads be seized and the country occupied, was ordered by Wilson to withdraw.Heckscher, p. 389. Wilson made a plea for postwar union in May 1916; his speech recited the right of every nation to its sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom from aggression. "So sincerely do we believe these things", Wilson said, "that I am sure that I speak the mind and wish of the people of America when I say that the United States is willing to become a partner in any feasible association of nations formed in order to realize these objectives". At home the speech was seen as a turning point in policy. In Europe the words were received by the British and the French without comment. His harshest European critics rightly thought the speech reflected indifference on Wilson's part; indeed, Wilson never wavered from a belief that the war was the result of corrupt European power politics.Heckscher, p. 392. Wilson made his final offer to mediate peace on December 18, 1916. As a preliminary, he asked both sides to state their minimum terms necessary for future security. The Central Powers replied that victory was certain, and the Allies required the dismemberment of their enemies' empires; no desire for peace existed, and the offer lapsed.Cooper, Woodrow Wilson (2009) pp. 362–76 Presidential election of 1916 Wilson's remarriage rejuvenated his personal aspirations for re-election. Edith Wilson enjoyed, as Ellen never had, the crowds and the power as a close collaborator with her husband.Heckscher, pp. 393–394. Executive decisions just prior to the campaign also enabled Wilson to bolster his political mastery. He was presented with a vacancy on the Supreme Court, which he succeeded in filling with a controversial nominee, Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish member of the court.Heckscher, pp. 396–397. Also, in the summer of 1916 the nation's economy was endangered by a railroad strike. The president called the parties to a White House summit in August—after two days and no results, Wilson proceeded to settle the issue, using the maximum eight-hour work day as the linchpin. Once the Congress passed the Adamson bill incorporating the president's proposal, the strike was cancelled. Wilson was praised for averting a national economic disaster, though the law was received with howls from conservatives denouncing a sellout to the unions and a surrender by Congress to an imperious president.Heckscher, p. 409. In the campaign, McCombs was replaced as chairman of the Democratic Party by Vance C. McCormick, a leading progressive, and Ambassador Henry Morgenthau was recalled from Turkey to manage campaign finances.Heckscher, p. 397. "Colonel" House played an important role in the campaign. "He planned its structure; set its tone; helped guide its finance; chose speakers, tactics, and strategy; and, not least, handled the campaign's greatest asset and greatest potential liability: its brilliant but temperamental candidate." Wilson, renominated without opposition, employed his campaign slogan "He kept us out of war", though he never promised unequivocally to stay out of the war. In his acceptance speech on September 2, 1916, Wilson pointedly warned Germany that submarine warfare resulting in American deaths would not be tolerated, saying "The nation that violates these essential rights must expect to be checked and called to account by direct challenge and resistance. It at once makes the quarrel in part our own." As the Party platform was drafted, Senator Owen of Oklahoma urged Wilson to take ideas from the Progressive Party platform of 1912 "as a means of attaching to our party progressive Republicans who are in sympathy with us in so large a degree." At Wilson's request, Owen highlighted federal legislation to promote workers' health and safety, prohibit child labour, provide unemployment compensation and establish minimum wages and maximum hours. Wilson, in turn, included in his draft platform a plank that called for all work performed by and for the federal government to provide a minimum wage, an eight-hour day and six-day workweek, health and safety measures, the prohibition of child labour, and (his own additions) safeguards for female workers and a retirement program.Cooper, John Milton Jr. Woodrow Wilson p 335 Wilson's opponent was Republican Charles Evans Hughes, former governor of New York with a progressive record similar to Wilson's as governor of New Jersey. Theodore Roosevelt commented that the only thing different between Hughes and Wilson was a shave. However, Hughes had to try to hold together a coalition of conservative Taft supporters and progressive Roosevelt partisans, and his campaign never assumed a definite form. Wilson ran on his record and ignored Hughes, reserving his attacks for Roosevelt. When asked why he did not attack Hughes directly, Wilson told a friend, "Never murder a man who is committing suicide."The American Presidency Project Wilson quote The election outcome was in doubt for several days and was determined by several close states. Wilson won California by 3,773 of almost a million votes cast, and New Hampshire by 54 votes. Hughes won Minnesota by 393 votes out of over 358,000. In the final count, Wilson had 277 electoral votes vs. Hughes's 254. Wilson was able to win by picking up many votes that had gone to Teddy Roosevelt or Eugene V. Debs in 1912.William M. Leary, Jr. "Woodrow Wilson, Irish Americans, and the Election of 1916", The Journal of American History, Vol. 54, No. 1. (June 1967), pp. 57–72. in JSTOR By the time Hughes' concession telegram arrived, Wilson commented "it was a little moth-eaten when it got here".Heckscher, p. 415. In December 1916, a month after his reelection, Wilson (a noted supporter of mother's pensions ) addressed a conference on social insurance in which he spoke of how a conference like that gave evidence of "the dominant interest of our own time, and one of the best elements of social insurance is social understanding – an interchange of views and a comprehension of interests which for a long time was only too rare." Second term, 1917–1921 Entry into World War I Wilson was aggravated with the British for ignoring his suggestion of a postwar league of nations; he also objected to their seizure of mail from neutral ships and their blacklisting of firms trading with Britain's enemies. Wilson insisted a league of nations was the solution to ending the war.Heckscher, pp. 401–403, 430. Wilson found it increasingly difficult to maintain neutrality, after Germany rescinded earlier promises – the Arabic pledge and the Sussex pledge. Early in 1917 the German ambassador Johann von Bernstorf informed Secretary of State Lansing of Germany's commitment to unrestricted submarine warfare; Bernstorff had tears in his eyes as he knew the U.S. reaction would adversely affect his country's lot.Heckscher, p. 427. Then came the revelation of the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany attempted to enlist Mexico as an ally, promising Mexico that if Germany was victorious, she would support Mexico in winning back the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona from the U.S.Thomas Boghardt, The Zimmermann telegram: intelligence, diplomacy, and America's entry into World War I (2012). Wilson's reaction after consulting the cabinet and the Congress was a minimal one – that diplomatic relations with the Germans be brought to a halt. The president said, "We are the sincere friends of the German people and earnestly desire to remain at peace with them. We shall not believe they are hostile to us unless or until we are obliged to believe it".Heckscher, pp. 428–429 In March 1917 several American ships were sunk by Germany and Teddy Roosevelt privately reacted, "if he does not go to war I shall skin him alive". Wilson called a cabinet meeting on March 20, in which the vote was unanimously in support of entering the war.Heckscher, pp. 436–437 ]] Wilson delivered his War Message to a special session of Congress on April 2, 1917, declaring that Germany's latest pronouncement had rendered his "armed neutrality" policy untenable and asking Congress to declare Germany's war stance was an act of war.For detailed coverage of the speech see [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0402.html#article NY Times main headline, April 2, 1917, President Calls for War Declaration, Stronger Navy, New Army of 500,000 Men, Full Cooperation With Germany's Foes] He proposed the United States enter the war to "vindicate principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power". The German government, Wilson said, "means to stir up enemies against us at our very doors". He then also warned that "if there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with a firm hand of repression."Cooper, John Milton, Reconsidering Woodrow Wilson: Progressivism, Internationalism, War, and Peace, Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-9074-1 (2008), p. 190 Wilson closed with: :Our object...is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power....We are glad...to fight...for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included: for the right of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy....We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make.See [http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=11&psid=3824 "World War I" Digital History] The declaration of war by the United States against Germany passed Congress by strong bipartisan majorities on April 4, 1917, with opposition from ethnic German strongholds and remote rural areas in the South. It was signed by Wilson on April 6, 1917. The U.S. did not sign a formal alliance with Britain or France but operated as an "associated" power—an informal ally with military cooperation through the Supreme War Council in London.David F. Trask, The United States in the Supreme War Council: American War Aims and Inter-Allied Strategy, 1917–1918 (1961). The U.S. raised a massive army through conscription and Wilson gave command to General John J. Pershing, with complete authority as to tactics, strategy and some diplomacy.Edward M. Coffman, The War to End All Wars (1968) ch. 3 Edward M. House, Wilson's key unofficial foreign affairs advisor, became the president's main channel of communication with the British government, and William Wiseman, a British naval attaché, was House's principal contact in England. Their personal relationship succeeded in serving the powers well, by overcoming strained relations in order to achieve essential understandings between the two governments. House also became the U.S. representative on the Allies' Supreme War Council.Heckscher, pp. 460–462. March 1917 also brought the first of two revolutions in Russia, which impacted the strategic role of the U.S. in the war. The overthrow of the imperial government removed a serious barrier to America's entry into the European conflict, while the second revolution in November relieved the Germans of a major threat on their eastern front, and allowed them to dedicate more troops to the Western front, thus making U.S. forces central to Allied success in battles of 1918. Wilson initially rebuffed pleas from the Allies to dedicate military resources to an intervention in Russia against the Bolsheviks, based partially on his experience from attempted intervention in Mexico; nevertheless he ultimately was convinced of the potential benefit and agreed to dispatch a limited force to assist the Allies on the eastern front.Georg Schild, review of Carl J. Richard "When the United States Invaded Russia: Woodrow Wilson's Siberian Disaster." Journal of American History 100.3 (2013): 864-864.online The Germans launched an offensive at Arras which prompted an accelerated deployment of troops by Wilson to the Western front—by August 1918 a million American troops had reached France. The Allies initiated a counter offensive at Somme and by August the Germans had lost the military initiative and an Allied victory was in sight. In October came a message from the new German Chancellor Prince Max of Baden to Wilson requesting a general armistice. In the exchange of notes with Germany they agreed the Fourteen Points in principle be incorporated in the armistice; House then procured agreement from France and Britain, but only after threatening to conclude a unilateral armistice without them. Wilson ignored Gen. Pershing's plea to drop the armistice and instead demand an unconditional surrender by Germany.Heckscher, pp. 479-88. Home front . On City Hall is a banner reading "Food will win the war – don't waste it".]] The War Industries Board, headed by Bernard Baruch, was established to set U.S. war manufacturing policies and goals; future President Herbert Hoover lead the Food Administration, to conserve food; the Federal Fuel Administration, run by Henry Garfield, introduced daylight saving time and rationed fuel supplies; William McAdoo was in charge of war bond efforts and Vance McCormick headed the War Trade Board. All of the above, known collectively as the "war cabinet", met weekly with Wilson at the White House.Heckscher, p. 469. These and other bodies were headed by businessmen recruited by Wilson for a-dollar-a-day salary to make the government more efficient in the war effort.Clements, Presidency ch 8 More favorable treatment was extended to those unions that supported the U.S. war effort, such as the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Wilson worked closely with Samuel Gompers and the AFL, the railroad brotherhoods, and other 'moderate' unions, which saw enormous growth in membership and wages during Wilson's administration. In the absence of rationing consumer prices soared; income taxes also increased and workers suffered. Despite this, appeals to buy war bonds were highly successful. The purchase of wartime bonds had the result of shifting the cost of the war to the taxpayers of the affluent 1920s. Antiwar groups, anarchists, communists, Industrial Workers of the World members, and other antiwar groups attempting to sabotage the war effort were targeted by the Department of Justice; many of their leaders were arrested for incitement to violence, espionage, or sedition.Cooper, John Milton, Reconsidering Woodrow Wilson: Progressivism, Internationalism, War, and Peace, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-9074-1 (2008), pp. 201, 209 Wilson also established the first western propaganda office, the United States Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel, the "Creel Commission", which circulated patriotic anti-German appeals and conducted censorship of materials considered seditious. To further counter disloyalty to the war effort at home, Wilson pushed through Congress the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 to suppress anti-British, pro-German, or anti-war statements. While he welcomed socialists who supported the war, he pushed at the same time to arrest and deport foreign-born enemies.Avrich, Paul, Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background, Princeton: Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-02604-1, ISBN 978-0-691-02604-6 (1991), pp. 93–94, 124, 127, 130–133 Many recent immigrants, resident aliens without U.S. citizenship, who opposed America's participation in the war were deported to Soviet Russia or other nations under the powers granted in the Immigration Act of 1918.Murray, Robert K., Red Scare: A Study in National Hysteria, 1919–1920 (1955), pp. 250–251 In an effort at reform and to shake up his Mobilization program, Wilson removed the chief of the Army Signal Corps and the chairman of the Aircraft Production Board on April 18, 1918.Leuchtenburg (1974), pp. 255–256 On May 16, the President launched an investigation, headed by Republican Charles Evans Hughes, into the War Department and the Council of Defense. The Hughes report released on October 31 found no major corruption violations or theft in Wilson's Mobilization program, although the report found incompetence in the aircraft program.Leuchtenburg (1974), pp. 256–257; U.S. Department of Justice (1918), Report on the Aircraft Inquiry, Washington D.C.; Pusey, ''Hughes, I, pp. 378–382 With congressional elections approaching, in 1918 Wilson made an appeal to the public for the retention of a Democratic majority and this seriously backfired due to its self-serving tone–Republicans successfully picked up majorities in both houses of Congress. Seward W. Livermore, "The Sectional Issue in the 1918 Congressional Elections." Mississippi Valley Historical Review 35#1 (1948): 29-60. in JSTOR The Fourteen Points Wilson initiated a secret series of studies named The Inquiry, primarily focused on Europe, and carried out by a group in New York which included geographers, historians and political scientists; the group was directed by Col. House.Heckscher, p. 470. The studies culminated in a speech by Wilson to Congress on January 8, 1918, wherein he articulated America's long term war objectives. It was the clearest expression of intention made by any of the belligerent nations. The speech, known as the Fourteen Points, was authored mainly by Walter Lippmann and projected Wilson's progressive domestic policies into the international arena. The first six dealt with diplomacy, freedom of the seas and settlement of colonial claims. Then territorial issues were addressed and the final point, the establishment of an association of nations to guarantee the independence and territorial integrity of all nations—a League of Nations. The address was translated into many languages for global dissemination.Heckscher, p. 471. Peace Conference 1919 at right.]] When the time came, Wilson spent six months in Paris for the Peace Conference—thereby the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office, and the first to visit the Pope.Heckscher, p. 458. Wilson disembarked from the George Washington in Brest on December 13; he took a break from the negotiations and departed February 14, 1919 for home, then returned to Paris three weeks later and remained until the conclusion of a treaty in June.Heckscher, p. 500 Heckscher describes Wilson, during the first four weeks of the Conference as, "playing, with force and discretion, a commanding role…he established his priorities, secured accommodation on major issues and won preliminary acceptance of the League."Heckscher, p. 536. He promoted his plan in France, and then at home in February. Wilson gave a speech at the Metropolitan Opera House in defense of the League—he was more insistent about it than ever. Heckscher contends that the enduring image of Wilson as a grim, unsmiling and unforgiving figure dates from this visit home during the conference.Heckscher, p. 538. While the general public along with editorial writers, churches and peace groups generally favored the League, the Republicans vowed to defeat the League and discredit Wilson.Heckscher, p. 539. Wilson notably did not address the Congress as to ongoing deliberations at the peace conference, as indeed his counterpart Lloyd George did with Parliament. Heckscher opines that this was a missed opportunity to forge the debate even though the Congressional majority had changed. In France he was without the usual control over his message through the media; in fact, the French initiated an aggressive propaganda campaign in the midst of the Conference to affect its outcome.Heckscher, p. 541. At the conclusion of the visit home Wilson suffered an illness en route to France; the ensuing months brought a decline in health and in power and prestige. On arrival, it was immediately clear the conference had struggled in his absence—Col. House had compromised Wilson's prior gains, and Wilson set out to attempt to regain the lost ground.Heckscher, p. 544–545. During these "dark days" of the conference Taft cabled to Wilson three proposed amendments to the League covenant which he thought would considerably increase its acceptability to the Europeans—the right of withdrawal from the League, the exemption of domestic issues from the League and the inviolability of the Monroe Doctrine. Wilson very reluctantly accepted these amendments, explaining why he later was more inflexible in the Senate treaty negotiations.Heckscher, pp. 551–553. On April 3 Wilson fell violently ill during a conference meeting, in a narrow escape from influenza. Though his symptoms receded within a couple of days, those around him noticed a distinct, lasting deterioration.Heckscher, p. 555. The charter of the proposed League of Nations was incorporated into the conference's Treaty of Versailles.Arnold M. Rice, John A. Krout, United States History From 1865, (HarperCollins, 1991), p. 180. Japan proposed that the Covenant include a racial equality clause. Wilson was indifferent to the issue, but acceded to strong opposition from Australia and Britain. After the conference, Wilson said that "at last the world knows America as the savior of the world!"President Woodrow Wilson speaking on the League of Nations to a luncheon audience in Portland OR. 66th Cong., 1st sess. Senate Documents: Addresses of President Wilson (May–November 1919), vol.11, no. 120, p. 206. For his peace-making efforts, Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. John Maynard Keynes, an anti-Wilson and anti-League intellectual, asserted Wilson was not well regarded at the Conference, "...he was in many respects...ill-informed as to European conditions...his mind was slow and unadaptable...There can seldom have been a statesman of the first rank more incompetent than the President in the agilities of the council chamber."John Maynard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace (London: MacMillan, 1923),available online Keynes' highly regarded rhetoric became the prevailing judgment of the conference for decades.Heckscher, p. 589. Treaty fight, 1919 The chances were less than favorable for ratification of the treaty by a two-thirds vote of the Republican Senate. Public opinion was mixed, with intense opposition from most Republicans, Germans, and Irish Catholic Democrats. In numerous meetings with Senators, Wilson discovered opposition had hardened. Despite his weakened physical condition Wilson decided to barnstorm the Western states, scheduling 29 major speeches and many short ones to rally support.A. Scott Berg, Wilson (2013), pp. 619–34 Wilson had earlier downplayed Germany's guilt in starting the war by calling for "peace without victory", but he had taken an increasingly hard stand at Paris and rejected advice to soften the treaty's treatment of Germany.Marc Trachtenberg, "Versailles after Sixty Years," Journal of Contemporary History (1982) 17#3 pp. 487–506 esp p. 490 in JSTOR In a reversal of his earlier position, in summer 1919 Wilson repeatedly stressed Germany's guilt, saying the treaty, "seeks to punish one of the greatest wrongs ever done in history, the wrong which Germany sought to do to the world and to civilization; and there ought to be no weak purpose with regard to the application of the punishment. She attempted an intolerable thing,and she must be made to pay for the attempt." Wilson had a series of debilitating strokes and had to cut short his trip on September 26, 1919. He became an invalid in the White House, closely monitored by his wife, who insulated him from negative news and downplayed for him the gravity of his condition.Berg, Wilson, pp. 635–43 Senator Lodge led the opposition to the treaty in the Republican controlled Senate; the key point of disagreement was whether the League would diminish the power of Congress to declare war. It proved possible to build a majority for the treaty in the Senate, but the two-thirds coalition needed to ratify was insurmountable.Thomas A. Bailey, Woodrow Wilson and the Great Betrayal (1945) One block of Democrats strongly supported the Versailles Treaty; a second group supported the Treaty but followed Wilson in opposing any amendments or reservations. The largest bloc—Lodge and the Republicans—wanted a treaty with reservations, especially on Article X, which empowered the League of Nations to make war without a vote by the United States Congress. Finally, a bipartisan group of 13 "irreconcilables" opposed a treaty in any form.Ralph A. Stone (1970). The Irreconcilables: The Fight Against the League of Nations. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. In mid-November 1919 Lodge and his Republicans formed a coalition with the pro-Treaty Democrats, and were close to a two-thirds majority for a Treaty with reservations; but the seriously indisposed Wilson rejected this compromise and enough Democrats followed his lead to defeat ratification. Cooper and Bailey suggest that Wilson's stroke in September had debilitated him from negotiating effectively with Lodge.Cooper, Woodrow Wilson, 544, 557–560; Bailey calls Wilson's rejection, "The Supreme Infanticide," Woodrow Wilson and the Great Betrayal (1945) p. 271. Post war: 1919–1920 Wilson's administration did effectively demobilize the country at the war's end. A plan to form a commission for the purpose was abandoned in the face of Republican control the Senate, which complicated the appointment of commission members. Instead, Wilson favored the prompt dismantling of wartime boards and regulatory agencies.David M. Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society (2004) pp. 249–50 Demobilization was chaotic and violent; four million soldiers were sent home with little planning, little money, few benefits, and other vague promises. A wartime bubble in prices of farmland burst, leaving many farmers deeply in debt after they purchased new land. Major strikes in the steel, coal, and meatpacking industries disrupted the economy in 1919.Leonard Williams Levy and Louis Fisher, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Presidency (1994) p. 494. Racial animosity erupted in serious race riots of ethnic whites against blacks in Chicago, Omaha, and two dozen other major cities in the North. As the election of 1920 approached, Wilson momentarily imagined that a deadlocked Democratic convention might nominate him for a third term with a campaign focused on the League of Nations. No one around the President adequately clarified for him that he was too incapacitated, had insufficient support, and that the League defeat was irreversible.David Pietrusza, 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents (NY: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2007), 191–2, 198–200, 253 In retirement, Wilson harbored hopes for a White House run in 1924 despite the absence of substantial support. Other foreign affairs Wilson frequently intervened in Latin American affairs, saying in 1913: "I am going to teach the South American republics to elect good men."Paul Horgan, Great River: the Rio Grande in North American History (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1984), 913 These interventions included Mexico in 1914, Haiti in 1915, the Dominican Republic in 1916, Cuba in 1917, and Panama in 1918. The U.S. maintained troops in Nicaragua throughout the Wilson administration and used them to select the president of Nicaragua and then to force Nicaragua to pass the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty. Additionally, American troops in Haiti – under the command of the federal government – forced the Haitian legislature to elect as president a pro-Western candidate who was favored by Wilson though less popular among the Haitian citizenry.Clements, Presidency 103–6 Wilson ordered the military occupation of the Dominican Republic shortly after the resignation of its President Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra in 1916. The U.S. military worked in concert with wealthy Dominican landowners to suppress the gavilleros, a campesino guerrilla force fighting the occupation. The occupation lasted until 1924, and was notorious for its brutality against those in the resistance. Wilson also negotiated a treaty with Colombia in which the U.S. apologized for its role in the Panama Revolution of 1903–1904.Cooper, Woodrow Wilson (2009), 381 After Russia left World War I following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the Allies sent troops there to prevent a German or Bolshevik takeover of allied-provided weapons, munitions and other supplies previously shipped as aid to the pre-revolutionary government.George F. Kennan, Russia Leaves the War, p. 472, et passim. 1956, repr. 1989, ISBN 0-691-00841-8. Wilson sent armed forces to assist the withdrawal of Czechoslovak Legions along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and to hold key port cities at Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok. Though specifically instructed not to engage the Bolsheviks, the U.S. forces engaged in several armed conflicts against forces of the new Russian government. Revolutionaries in Russia resented the American intrusion. As Robert Maddox puts it, "The immediate effect of the intervention was to prolong a bloody civil war, thereby costing thousands of additional lives and wreaking enormous destruction on an already battered society."Robert J. Maddox, The Unknown War with Russia (San Rafael, CA: Presidio Press, 1977), 137. Wilson withdrew most of the soldiers on April 1, 1920, though some remained until as late as 1922. In 1919, Wilson guided American foreign policy to "acquiesce" in the Balfour Declaration without supporting Zionism in an official way. Wilson expressed sympathy for the plight of Jews, especially in Poland and in France.Walworth (1986) 473–83, esp. p. 481; Melvin I. Urofsky, American Zionism from Herzl to the Holocaust, (1995) ch. 6; Frank W. Brecher, Reluctant Ally: United States Foreign Policy toward the Jews from Wilson to Roosevelt. (1991) ch 1–4. In May 1920, Wilson sent a long-deferred proposal to Congress to have the U.S. accept a mandate from the League of Nations to take over Armenia.Peter Balakian (2003). The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: HarperCollins. Bailey notes this was opposed by American public opinion,Bailey, Woodrow Wilson and the Great Betrayal (1945) pp. 295–96. while Richard G. Hovannisian states that Wilson "made all the wrong arguments" for the mandate and focused less on the immediate policy than on how history would judge his actions: "he wished to place it clearly on the record that the abandonment of Armenia was not his doing." The resolution won the votes of only 23 senators. Incapacity The immediate cause of Wilson's incapacity in September 1919 was the physical strain of the public speaking tour he undertook in support of ratification of the Treaty of Versailles. In Pueblo, Colorado, on September 25, 1919, he collapsed and never fully recovered.In 1906 Wilson first exhibited arterial hypertension, mainly untreatable at the time. Timeline for Hypertension Treatment History, accessed September 14, 2009. During his presidency, he had repeated episodes of unexplained arm and hand weakness, and his retinal arteries were said to be abnormal on fundoscopic examination.The Health & Medical History of President Woodrow Wilson, accessed November 9, 2009. He developed severe headaches, diplopia (double vision), and evanescent weakness of the left arm and leg. In retrospect, those problems likely represented the effects of cerebral transient ischemic attacks. Weinstein EA, Woodrow Wilson: A Medical & Psychological Biography (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1981), pp. 260–270 On October 2, 1919, he suffered a serious stroke, leaving him paralyzed on his left side, and with only partial vision in the right eye.Heckscher, pp. 615–622. He was confined to bed for weeks and sequestered from everyone except his wife and physician, Dr. Cary Grayson.Grayson CT, Woodrow Wilson: An Intimate Memoir (NY: Holt, Rhinehart, & Winston, 1960), pp. 96–110 For some months he used a wheelchair and later he required use of a cane. His wife and aide Joe Tumulty were said to have helped a journalist, Louis Seibold, present a false account of an interview with the President. He was insulated by his wife, who selected matters for his attention and delegated others to his cabinet. Wilson temporarily resumed a perfunctory attendance at cabinet meetings.Herbet Hoover, The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1958), pp. 271–278 By February 1920, the President's true condition was public. Many expressed qualms about Wilson's fitness for the presidency at a time when the League fight was reaching a climax, and domestic issues such as strikes, unemployment, inflation and the threat of Communism were ablaze. No one, including his wife, his physician, or personal assistant, was willing to take upon themselves responsibility for the certification, required by the Constitution, of his "inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office".Cooper, Wilson p. 555 This complex case became a motivation for passage of the 25th Amendment.Birch Bayh, One Heartbeat Away: Presidential Disability (New York: BobbsMerrill, 1968). Women's suffrage Wilson favored women's suffrage at the state level, but held off support for a nationwide constitutional amendment because his party was sharply divided, with the South opposing an amendment on the grounds of state's rights. In any case, Arkansas was the only Southern state to have given women voting rights thus far. From 1917 to 1919, a highly visible campaign by the National Woman's Party (NWP) disparaged Wilson and his party for not enacting any amendment on the matter. Wilson did, however, keep in close touch with the much larger and more moderate suffragists of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. He continued to hold off until he was sure the Democratic Party in the North was supportive; the 1917 referendum in New York State in favor of suffrage proved decisive for him. In January 1918, Wilson went in person to the House and made a strong and widely published appeal to the House to pass the bill. It passed but the Senate stalled until 1919, then finally sent the amendment to the states for ratification.Christine A. Lunardini and Thomas J. Knock, "Woodrow Wilson and woman suffrage: A new look," Political Science Quarterly (1980) pp: 655–671 in JSTOR. Behn argues that: :The National American Woman Suffrage Association, not the National Woman's Party, was decisive in Wilson's conversion to the cause of the federal amendment because its approach mirrored his own conservative vision of the appropriate method of reform: win a broad consensus, develop a legitimate rationale, and make the issue politically valuable. Additionally, I contend that Wilson did have a significant role to play in the successful congressional passage and national ratification of the 19th Amendment.Beth Behn, "Woodrow Wilson's conversion experience: The president and the federal woman suffrage amendment." (PhD dissertation, U. of Massachusetts-Amherst, 2012) online, quote from abstract Civil rights .]] Several historians have criticized a number of Wilson's policies on racial grounds. Critics argue that in his book, ''History of the American People, Wilson depicted white European immigrants with empathy while African American immigrants and their children were regarded as unsuitable for citizenship and unable to assimilate positively into American society. According to critics, Wilson believed that slavery was wrong on economic labor grounds, rather than for moral reasons. They also argue that he idealized the slavery system in the South, viewing masters as patient with "indolent" slaves. In terms of Reconstruction, they argue that Wilson held the common southern view that the South was demoralized by Northern carpetbaggers and that overreach on the part of the Radical Republicans justified extreme measures to reassert Democratic national and state governments. Gerstle, p. 104 Wilson's War Department drafted hundreds of thousands of blacks into the army, giving them equal pay with whites, but in accord with military policy from the Civil War through the Second World War, kept them in all-black units with white officers, and kept the great majority out of combat.James J. Cooke, The All-Americans at War: The 82nd Division in the Great War, 1917–1918 (1999) When a delegation of blacks protested the discriminatory actions, Wilson told them "segregation is not a humiliation but a benefit, and ought to be so regarded by you gentlemen." In 1918, W. E. B. Du Bois—a leader of the NAACP who had campaigned for Wilson—was offered an Army commission in charge of dealing with race relations; DuBois accepted, but he failed his Army physical and did not serve.Mark Ellis, Closing Ranks' and 'Seeking Honors': W. E. B. Du Bois in World War I" Journal of American History, 1992 79(1): 96–124. While president of Princeton University, Wilson had discouraged blacks from applying for admission, preferring to keep the peace among white students and alumni.Arthur Link, Wilson:The Road to the White House (Princeton University Press, 1947) 502 Wilson's History of the American People (1901) explained the Ku Klux Klan of the late 1860s as a lawless reaction to a lawless period. Wilson wrote that the Klan "began to attempt by intimidation what they were not allowed to attempt by the ballot or by any ordered course of public action". Cabinet heads appointed by President Wilson re-segregated restrooms and cafeterias in their buildings. Wilson showed the film The Birth of a Nation (1915) in the White House. The film, while revolutionary in its cinematic technique, glorified the Ku Klux Klan and portrayed blacks as uncouth and uncivilized. Wilson, who did not know the nature of the film beforehand, never praised the film and considered it to be "a very unfortunate production." During Wilson's term, the government began requiring photographs of all applicants for federal jobs. He told black leaders that he sincerely believed this was in their interest. Administration and Cabinet Wilson's chief of staff ("Secretary") was Joseph Patrick Tumulty from 1913 to 1921, but he was largely upstaged after 1916 when Wilson's second wife, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, assumed full control of Wilson's schedule. The most important foreign policy advisor and confidant was "Colonel" Edward M. House until Wilson broke with him in early 1919, for his missteps at the peace conference in Wilson's absence.Arthur Walworth, "Considerations on Woodrow Wilson and Edward M. House", Presidential Studies Quarterly 1994 24(1): 79–86. Judicial appointments ]] Supreme Court Wilson appointed three Associate Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States: * James Clark McReynolds in 1914. A conservative, he served more than 26 years and opposed the New Deal. * Louis Dembitz Brandeis in 1916. A liberal, and the first Jew appointed to the Court, he served 22 years and wrote landmark opinions on free speech and right to privacy. * John Hessin Clarke in 1916. He served just 6 years on the Court before resigning. He thoroughly disliked his work as an Associate Justice. Other courts Along with his Supreme Court appointments, Wilson appointed 20 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals and 52 judges to the United States district courts. Final years and death ]] After the end of his second term in 1921, Wilson and his wife moved from the White House to an elegant 1915 town house in the Embassy Row (Kalorama) section of Washington, D.C. Wilson continued daily drives, and attended Keith's vaudeville theatre on Saturday nights. Wilson was one of only two U.S. Presidents (Theodore Roosevelt was the first) to have served as president of the American Historical Association.David Henry Burton. Theodore Roosevelt, American Politician, p. 146. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8386-3727-2 On November 10, 1923, Wilson made a short Armistice Day radio speech from the library of his home, his last national address. The following day he spoke briefly from the front steps to more than 20,000 well wishers gathered outside the house. On February 3, 1924, Wilson died at home of a stroke and other heart-related problems at age 67. He was interred in a sarcophagus in Washington National Cathedral and is the only president interred in the nation's capital.John Whitcomb, Claire Whitcomb. Real Life at the White House, p. 262. Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0-415-93951-8 Mrs. Wilson stayed in the home another 37 years, dying there at age 89 on December 28, 1961, which was Woodrow's birthday and the day she was to be the guest of honor at the opening of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River near Washington. Mrs. Wilson left the home and much of the contents to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to be made into a museum honoring her husband. The Woodrow Wilson House opened to the public in 1963, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.See "Woodrow Wilson House", National Park Service Website, accessed January 12, 2009 Wilson left his daughter Margaret an annuity of $2,500 annually for as long as she remained unmarried, and left to his daughters what had been his first wife's personal property. The rest he left to Edith as a life estate with the provision that at her death, his daughters would divide the estate among themselves.Wills of the U.S. Presidents, edited by Herbert R Collins and David B Weaver (New York: Communication Channels Inc., 1976) 176–177, ISBN 0-916164-01-2. Wilson's presidential papers and his personal library are at the Library of Congress. Legacy In recognition of his signing on March 2, 1917 the "Jones Act" that granted United States citizenship to Puerto Ricans, streets in several municipalities there were renamed "Calle Wilson", including one in the Mariani neighborhood in Ponce and the Condado section of San Juan. The largest denomination of U.S. currency ever printed, the $100,000 bill bears Wilson's portrait (meant for use only among Federal Reserve Banks). The [[USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624)|USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624)]], a Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Wilson. She later was converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-624. The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs was founded at Princeton in 1930. It was created in the spirit of Wilson's interest in preparing students for leadership in public and international affairs. Shadow Lawn, the Summer White House for Wilson during his term in office, became part of Monmouth University in 1956. The college has placed a marker on the building, renamed Woodrow Wilson Hall, commemorating the home. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985. In 1944, Darryl F. Zanuck of 20th Century Fox produced a film titled Wilson. It looked back with nostalgia to Wilson's presidency, especially concerning his role as commander-in-chief during World War I. A section of the Rambla of Montevideo, Uruguay, is named Rambla Presidente Wilson. A street in the 16th arrondissement in Paris, running from Trocadéro to the Place de l'Alma, is named the Avenue du Président Wilson. The Pont Wilson crosses the Rhône river in the center of Lyon, France. The Boulevard du Président Wilson extends from the main train station of Strasbourg and connects to the Boulevard Clemenceau. In Bordeaux, the Boulevard du Président Wilson links to the Boulevard George V. The Quai du Président Wilson forms part of the port of Marseille. Praha hlavní nádraží, the main railway station of Prague has, for much of its history, been known as the "Wilson Station" (Czech: Wilsonovo nádraží). The in Ghent, Belgium. In 2010, Wilson was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Named for Wilson * The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, established by Congress in 1968 as a "living memorial" to President Wilson, is a leading policy forum in Washington, D.C. and part of the Smithsonian Institution. * The Wilson College, Princeton University is one of the five residential colleges at Princeton University. * The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. http://wws.princeton.edu/about-wws/leadership/meet-dean * Wilson House, an undergraduate dormitory at Johns Hopkins University, is named in his honor. * Wilson Hall, an administrative building at James Madison University, is named in his honor. * His portrait appeared on the U.S. $100,000 bill, issued in 1934. This bill was used only for transactions between the Federal Reserve and Treasury. * Wilson's support for creating the independent state of Czechoslovakia led to renaming the central railway station in Prague was renamed from "Franz Joseph Station" to "Wilson Station" (Wilsonovo nadrazi).Bruce Garver, "Czech Cubism and Fin-De-Siècle Prague." Austrian History Yearbook 19.01 (1983): 91–104. His name was considered when the new nation of Czechoslovakia was renaming some of its cities.Peter Bugge, "The Making of a Slovak City: The Czechoslovak Renaming of Pressburg/Pozsony/Prešporok, 1918–19." Austrian History Yearbook 35 (2004): 205–227. * The in Paris, France, is named in honor of Wilson. * Boulevard Wilson, a main street in Strasbourg, France, where the European Parliament is located, is named in honor of Wilson. Anyone arriving by train in Strasbourg will cross or travel on Boulevard Wilson, including those traveling to the European Parliament. * Woodrow Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River on the portion of the Capital Beltway which is also Interstate 95 is located in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. * Plac Wilsona, a square in northwestern Warsaw * The Woodrow Wilson House is a national historic landmark and house museum that focuses on President Woodrow Wilson's "Washington Years (1912–1924)". The museum promotes a greater awareness of Wilson's public life and ideals for future generations through guided tours, exhibitions and educational programs.See http://www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org/ website * The Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland, is the current headquarters of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; the Quai Wilson is a street nearby, on the west shore of Lake Geneva. Works Woodrow Wilson was also an accomplished author and scholar, having written numerous books and essays. Books: * Congressional Government 1885. * On Being Human 1897. * The state: elements of historical and practical politics 1898. * A History of the American People 1902. * Constitutional Government in the United States 1908. * The New Freedom 1913. * When A Man Comes To Himself 1915. Essays: * The Study of Administration 1887. * Leaders of Men 1890. Media File:Woodrow Wilson at a parade, 1918.ogg|Wilson tips his hat as he exits the White House on his way to a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue (1918). File:Woodrow Wilson video montage.ogg|Collection of video clips of the president See also * Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home * Woodrow Wilson House (Washington, D.C.) * Woodrow Wilson Foundation * Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation * Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars * Progressivism in the United States * Silent Sentinels Notes Bibliography Biographical * Berg, A. Scott. Wilson (2013), full-scale scholarly biography * Blum, John. Woodrow Wilson and the Politics of Morality '' (1956); short scholarly biography * Brands, H. W. ''Woodrow Wilson 1913–1921 (2003); short scholarly biography * Cooper, John Milton. Woodrow Wilson: A Biography (2009), full-scale scholarly biography * * * Link, Arthur S. "Woodrow Wilson" in Henry F. Graff ed., The presidents: A Reference History '' (2002) pp. 365–388; short scholarly biography * Link, Arthur Stanley. ''Wilson: The Road to the White House (1947), first volume of standard biography (to 1917); Wilson: The New Freedom (1956); Wilson: The Struggle for Neutrality: 1914–1915 (1960); Wilson: Confusions and Crises: 1915–1916 (1964); Wilson: Campaigns for Progressivism and Peace: 1916–1917 (1965), the last volume of standard scholarly biography * Maynard, W. Barksdale. Woodrow Wilson: Princeton to the Presidency (2008) * Miller, Kristie. Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies (University Press of Kansas, 2010) * Post, Jerrold M. "Woodrow Wilson Re-Examined: The Mind-Body Controversy Redux and Other Disputations," Political Psychology (1983) 4#2 pp. 289–306 in JSTOR, on Wilson's self-defeating behavior * ; full scale scholarly biography Scholarly topical studies * Ambrosius, Lloyd E., "Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush: Historical Comparisons of Ends and Means in Their Foreign Policies", Diplomatic History, 30 (June 2006), 509–43. * Bailey; Thomas A. Wilson and the Peacemakers: Combining Woodrow Wilson and the Lost Peace and Woodrow Wilson and the Great Betrayal (1947); detailed coverage of 1919 * Clements, Kendrick, A. Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman (1999) * Clements, Kendrick A. The Presidency of Woodrow Wilson (1992), a standard scholarly survey * Clements, Kendrick A. "Woodrow Wilson and World War I", Presidential Studies Quarterly 34:1 (2004). pp. 62+ * Cooper, John Milton, ed. Reconsidering Woodrow Wilson: Progressivism, Internationalism, War, and Peace (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008) * Cooper, John Milton. "Making A Case for Wilson," in Reconsidering Woodrow Wilson (2008) ch 1 * Davis, Donald E. and Eugene P. Trani. The First Cold War: The Legacy of Woodrow Wilson in U.S.-Soviet Relations (2002) online * Greene, Theodore P., ed. Wilson at Versailles (1957) essays by scholars and primary sources * Hofstadter, Richard. "Woodrow Wilson: The Conservative as Liberal" in The American Political Tradition (1948), ch. 10. * Janis, Mark Weston. "How Wilsonian Was Woodrow Wilson?," Dartmouth Law Journal (2007) 5:1 pp. 1–15 online * Kazianis, Harry. "Woodrow Wilson: Civil War, Morality and Foreign Policy", E-International Relations '' (2011), E-ir.info * Kennedy, Ross A., ed. ''A Companion to Woodrow Wilson (2013), historiographical essays by scholars * Knock, Thomas J. To End All Wars: Woodrow Wilson and the Quest for a New World Order (1995) * Levin, Jr., N. Gordon. Woodrow Wilson and World Politics: America's Response to War and Revolution (1968) * Link, Arthur Stanley. Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era, 1910–1917 (1972) standard political history of the era * Link, Arthur S.; Wilson the Diplomatist: A Look at His Major Foreign Policies (1957) online * Link, Arthur S.; Woodrow Wilson and a Revolutionary World, 1913–1921 (1982) * Livermore, Seward W. Woodrow Wilson and the War Congress, 1916–1918 (1966) * Malin, James C. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5260560 The United States after the World War (1930) online] * Saunders, Robert M. In Search of Woodrow Wilson: Beliefs and Behavior (1998) * Trani, Eugene P. "Woodrow Wilson and the Decision to Intervene in Russia: A Reconsideration". Journal of Modern History (1976). 48:440–61. in JSTOR * Tucker, Robert W. Woodrow Wilson and the Great War: Reconsidering America's Neutrality, 1914–1917 (2007) * Vought, Hans. "Woodrow Wilson, Ethnicity, and the Myth of American Unity". In Myth America: A Historical Anthology, Volume II. 1997. Gerster, Patrick, and Cords, Nicholas. (editors.) Brandywine Press, St. James, NY. ISBN 1–881–089–97–5 * Walworth, Arthur; Wilson and His Peacemakers: American Diplomacy at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 (1986) * Yellin, Eric S. Racism in the Nation's Service: Government Workers and the Color Line in Woodrow Wilson's America (2013) * Primary sources * August Heckscher, ed., The Politics of Woodrow Wilson: Selections from his Speeches and Writings (1956) * 69 volumes. Annotated edition of all of Wilson's correspondence, speeches and writings. * . Memoir by Wilson's chief of staff. * Arno Press reprint: 1981. * Wilson, Woodrow. "Congressional government: a study in American politics (1885)" * 1912 campaign speeches * * 3 volumes, 1918 and later editions. * Woodrow Wilson, compiled with his approval by Hamilton Foley; Woodrow Wilson's Case for the League of Nations, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1923; contemporary book review * Wilson, Woodrow. Messages & Papers of Woodrow Wilson 2 vol (ISBN 1-135-19812-8) * Wilson, Woodrow. The New Democracy. Presidential Messages, Addresses, and Other Papers (1913–1917) 2 vol 1926, ISBN 0-89875-775-4 * Wilson, Woodrow. [http://www.usa-presidents.info/speeches/fourteen-points.html President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points (1918)] * Wilson, Woodrow. Presidential papers and personal library, Woodrow Wilson Library of the Library of Congress. External links *Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum ;Speeches and other works * Full text of a number of Wilson's speeches, Miller Center of Public Affairs * * * ;Media coverage * *"Life Portrait of Woodrow Wilson", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, September 13, 1999 ;Study sites *Woodrow Wilson: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress *Extensive essays on Woodrow Wilson and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs *Woodrow Wilson Links *Woodrow Wilson: Prophet of Peace, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places lesson plan }} }} Category:Biography pages